For three young public transit enthusiasts from Chicago, Thursday wasn't just about chasing a Guinness World Record — it was about proving something bigger: that MARTA is reliable, safe, and worth riding.

Joabe Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Omar Yousaf spent the day riding the entire MARTA rail system in an attempt to complete the full route in roughly three hours. Their goal? Demonstrate that Atlanta's transit system can hold its own while encouraging more people to give it a try.

Barbosa said he was impressed with how clean and comfortable the system felt throughout their ride.

"I think it was really clean. Everything was fine. It smelled great — maybe because we were there," he joked.

The trio has a shared passion for transit systems across the country, but for 20-year-old Omar Yousaf, the mission is personal. His family moved to Atlanta five years ago, and he has seen firsthand how conversations about MARTA often focus on criticism rather than potential.

Their world-record attempt has sparked renewed interest in the city's transit system, something Yousaf believes is positive.

"It's not only to say, 'here's our world record, look at this,' but to make people try the transportation because it's reliable," Yousaf said. "You have it literally on the corner."

Despite the enthusiasm, the group acknowledged the system isn't perfect. They fell about 20 minutes short of their three-hour goal due to train wait times — delays they say could be improved with more precise scheduling.

"There are countries in Asia, like Japan, which have trains scheduled by the second," Barbosa said. "If we're gonna get a world record, we're gonna need trains that are scheduled by the second."

Still, the riders said the experience was overwhelmingly positive, especially when it came to safety — an issue often raised by hesitant commuters.

"Yeah, we felt safe," Barbosa said. "And we hope people in Atlanta feel safe enough to not just hear about things and say, 'oh we don't want to ride MARTA,' but you should. Because at the end of the day, you're not gonna stop riding planes if a plane falls down. It doesn't mean it's unsafe."

The group started their journey at North Springs Station early Thursday morning and wrapped up just after 6 p.m. at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — tired, a few minutes shy of breaking the record, but proud of what they set out to show.

Their message to Atlanta riders is simple: give MARTA a chance.